Except you aren’t. The arrival of the new mid-engine Lotus Evora, due on our shores in January, may mark the first time in nearly two decades that the words “Lotus” and “shoehorn” haven’t been used in the same sentence.

Following the demise of the much-unloved Excel in 1992 (“mercy killing” might be a better term), Lotus Cars stopped building two-plus-twos to concentrate instead on unleashing a steady volley of tiny, minimal-frills two-seaters — Elises and Exiges and assorted variations thereof. Each has offered a driving experience akin to grabbing hold of a live high-voltage wire. And each has coddled its two occupants with all the comfort and luxury of a discount motel’s Guantanamo suite.

Well, I’m in rainy Scotland today, and I’ve just finished a three-hour drive in the new Evora across green hills, past wave-swept lochs, down battered two-lane carriageways, and…I’m fine. Great, in fact. No post-go-kart stress disorder. No residual engine ringing in the ears. No lingering embarrassment at having poorly executed my dismount from the driver’s seat and ended up sprawled across the asphalt with a foot caught in the steering wheel. What’s more, I could’ve brought my wife and daughter along and they’d have thoroughly enjoyed it, too.

The Evora marks a turning point for the British maker. This may be the first-ever Lotus built for everyone.

Wonderful as the Elise and Exige are as single-malt sports cars (such are the metaphors that come to mind when you’re surrounded by Scottish distilleries), they are one-dimensional machines — and unabashedly so. Strap one on and attack your favorite mountain pass until your mouth hurts from grinning, yes, but then put it away ’til next weekend.

The Evora is different. First, it’s bigger. Not big, just bigger. Compared with the Elise, wheelbase grows by nearly 11 inches and overall length climbs by nearly two feet (though it’s about four inches taller than the Elise, the Evora retains the low-slung stance of a running shoe). If those increases seem significant, they only prove how Lilliputian the Elise really is. In the metal, the “big” Evora looks lithe and tidy. Indeed, the composite bodywork is so lean, the hood emblem mounts directly over the end of the front subframe (the rear overhang is almost equally minimal). It’s a beautiful piece, too: Styled by design manager Steve Crijns and Lotus design chief Russell Carr, the Evora resembles a small shark. It’s so pretty you want to pet it, but you don’t ’cause it might also snatch off a finger.

Unlike the Coke-bottle Elise and Exige, the Evora slips easily through the air (drag coefficient: 0.33), while its top-exit radiators (in the hood), rear spoiler, and rear diffuser combine for significant downforce at speed. Naturally, it also offers something the Elise and Exige never could: a rear seat. True, it’s a small one, built only for children or “5th percentile females” (I think that has something to do with how much they watch “The View”). But it’s there (or skip the rear seat if you want and order your Evora with a rear luggage shelf instead). Front-seat room is up conspicuously, so much so that you’ll no longer rub shoulders with your passengers. I’m six feet tall and had easily two inches of headroom to spare, though hip room in the bucket is minimal — unless, say, you happen to be Lara Flynn Boyle. Best of all, you can actually climb into the Evora’s cockpit without instructions or a pre-soak in WD-40.

Go ahead and blink a few times, because inside the Evora looks like no other Lotus before it. There’s carpeting and everything. A nicely stitched leather dash. Plus all those options like sat nav, Bluetooth, and premium audio. Mmmmm, it even smells nice, like a Montana saddle shop. Check out the smart details, too: a dead pedal stuck just where your left foot wants to rest, aluminum climate-control buttons that look good and make sense, a racy flat-bottom steering wheel. When I mention that last touch to vehicle engineering director Roger Becker (who’s been at Lotus for more than four decades), he laughs. “Ah! The steering wheel that divided a family!” Turns out Becker’s son Matthew, now executive engineer in charge of vehicle dynamics, wanted a conventional round wheel. “That one looks like someone dropped it,” says Matt. Sorry, son: We’re with Dad on this one.

Lotus has a long history of borrowing from Toyota‘s parts shelves, and the Evora is no different. In the mid-mounted engine bay sits a version of the twin-cam, 3.5-liter V-6 that also serves in such Toyotas as the Camry and the Venza. A Camry motor in a Lotus? Why, yes — and, says Paul Birch of Lotus powertrain systems, both automakers are damn proud of that. “Toyota engineers even asked us very politely…’Could you mention that you’re using a Toyota engine?'” Birch says. “And we’re like, ‘Why wouldn’t we?'”

As it does with all the hardware it sources, Lotus added its own “sparkle” to the Toyota six, including a new exhaust system. Output is 276 horsepower at 6400 rpm and 258 pound-feet of torque at 4700. “Wait,” you may be saying. “Doesn’t Toyota also make a more potent, direct-injection version of that engine?” It does — but the DI motor is set up only for longitudinal applications, and won’t fit in the Evora’s transverse bay.

Unlike Toyota, Lotus mates the 3.5-liter six with a manual transmission. The six-speed is borrowed from a Toyota diesel powertrain, and in standard form its tall ratios help deliver exceptional fuel economy. Lotus will also offer a Sport version, though, incorporating its own third-, fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-gear cogs. Fuel economy drops about 3 mpg with the Sport six-speed, but performance jumps. Lotus claims the Evora will run to 60 in just 4.9 sec. Lotus also builds its own clutch and revises the linkage for a tighter, more aggressive shift feel.

Later for the 2011 model year, Lotus will add an optional six-speed automatic with paddle shifters, another Toyota unit. “We’ll revise that one for Lotus duty, too,” says Becker.

Aside from its Toyota-sourced powertrain, the Evora is a clean-sheet car. “It shares only about three percent of its parts with other Lotus models,” says Becker. “And those bits are almost all nuts and washers and bolts.” Like the Elise and Exige, the Evora uses an extruded and bonded aluminum chassis. But the structure of the new Low Volume Versatile Vehicle Architecture (VVA) is vastly different.

The chassis comprises a central tub to which a front and rear subframe are bolted onto each end. Both subframes are designed to deform and absorb the majority of the impact in a crash (the rear subframe passes the new 50-mph “bullet” rear-collisions test), while the center passenger section remains intact. If, say, the front structure is damaged in an accident, it’s a relatively simple matter to remove it and bolt-on a new one (reusing any undamaged suspension pieces, too). Brakes are large ventilated discs (cross-drilled with Sport pack) with four-piston calipers. Tires are Pirelli PZeros on 18-inch (front) and 19-inch (rear) alloy wheels (cast wheels are standard, with forged optional). Lotus may also use Yokohama Advan Sport tires later into the Evora model run.

Given its unusual (for a Lotus) interior spaciousness and myriad creature comforts (my test car was loaded with every option), the obvious question is: Has Lotus gone soft?

The short answer: Definitely not. Though it’s easy to climb into and even relatively easy to see out of, the Evora is very much a Lotus. Barely a mile out of the parking lot, I was already admiring the steering: direct, precise, alive with feedback. You’d never know it’s hydraulically assisted — it’s that pure. The front end feels light and bites hard into turns (despite the rain), and the grip feels limitless (U.S. Evora models will offer standard traction and stability control, both with Sport modes and also fully defeatable).

Riding shotgun, Paul Birch tells me the Evora even outgrips the purebred Exige S on semi-slick tires. “We’ve measured sustained lateral readings of 1.3 g,” he says. “On street tires.” It’s too wet today to get anywhere near that limit, but rest assured that’s a statement we’ll be investigating as soon as we have an Evora back in Los Angeles.

The engine is a sweetheart, loaded with torque and eagerly spinning to high revs (select Sport mode, and throttle response quickens while max revs climb by 500 rpm). The motor’s 276 horses are more than enough to motivate the Evora’s claimed 3050 lb, though Birch hints that more power (turbos, perhaps?) may be coming. The six-speed is brilliant, shifting with just a flick of the lever and aided by an ultra-smooth clutch — both thanks to Lotus work. The pedals are perfect for heel-and-toe work. In fact, in many ways the Evora feels very much like an Elise, with the same hard-wired-to-you character and a light, easy swing into corners. Yet it rides far better than the Elise and, of course, is simply a more pleasant place to spend time in. Part of that quality stems from the structure’s rigidity, said to be 2.5 times stiffer than the Elise’s. Wind noise is low, too. For once, I could even hear the stereo.

Lotus will build just 2000 Evoras annually, starting this summer. About a third of those will head to the states, beginning in January. U.S. pricing hasn’t yet been announced, but Lotus says to expect a base of around $75,000.

The Evora rocks. It looks fabulous, it’s a quantum leap up in Lotus refinement and driveability, yet it retains the feathery, purebred feel of its feisty two-seat siblings. It’s a truly unique vehicle, too — Lotus claims it’s the only car in the world that can reach 60 in under five seconds, top 160 mph, and deliver more than 30 mpg on the highway (U.S. EPA figures are only estimates for now). “Nothing else like it” has long been a Lotus hallmark, of course. Now, though, that’s a real compliment.